The Game
by Moonbyrd
Summary: AU. OCs. The lives of two cousins take some unforeseen turns into remarkable territory.


A woman sat in front of a computer, perched precariously on the edge of a stool. "Blast it," she muttered in disgust, reviewing the calculations before her. She'd put the equations through four different systems, three times each. And the answer remained the same. Not good. "Why me?" She asked the room. "I do not have the mental stability to keep doing this. Some day in the very near future, my head will come unscrewed, someone will kick it into the hallway, and goodbye sweet life!" Oh, well. No hope for it. She sighed, adjusted her glasses, and reached for the phone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I understand. Yes, I do. Really. I...no, it's okay. ... But...why now? Oh? And so of course you...of course not. No, no, really. I do understand. I don't like it, but I understand. ... Mm-hm. Goodbye. I love you." *click*  
  
Duo Maxwell blinked at his roommate. "And?"  
  
The other boy sighed. "It's over. I think it's for good this time."  
  
Duo winced in sympathy and stopped playing with his braid. "Whoa. Sorry, man. That really stinks."  
  
"Aa." Icy blue eyes closed. "Why?" He asked without opening them. "I really thought this one was real. I guess I...deluded myself or something."  
  
"Hey, Heero, man, I told you not to get involved with him. I told you you'd get burned."  
  
Heero Yuy opened his eyes. "Yeah," he sighed heavily. "I guess I should have listened to you." He sat on the bed, chin in his hand. "Note to self. My cousin is always right."  
  
"Nice to hear you say that, Heero," Duo smiled. "Wanna go out for some pizza?"  
  
The other boy shuddered slightly. "Iie. Thanks but no thanks."  
  
"Awww. Come on, Hee-chan. It'll make you feel better. We can go hunk-hunting!" One of the unusual things about the cousins is that both were gay. "We can go to that really nice new place. They have health foods there, I checked." Another was that Duo was full-blooded American, and loved greasy foods while Heero was half Japanese, and lived for salads and tofu. "Come on, Heero. It'll be good for you!"  
  
Heero took one look at the expression on Duo's face and knew resistance would be futile. "Fine. Let me get my coat."  
  
Duo whistled. "Man, you really [i]are[/i] upset. You never wear so much as a long sleeved shirt unless I wrestle you into it. And it's only October! Still in the fifties. One would think you'd want to take the opportunity to show off your hot bod."  
  
A sidelong look silenced the American boy, who merely raised an eyebrow. "If you even [i]think[/i] about asking a random guy out for me, you can forget it. Give me at least a week. Please."  
  
"And after that?"  
  
A sigh. "We'll negotiate."  
  
"Deal."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"See? Don't you feel better already?" Duo whirled around, arms outstretched. "It's a really nice night."  
  
Heero had to admit that the cool air was good for one thing, at least. The chilly wind made it easier to keep back tears, and what few did emerge he could blame on watering eyes. But none of that helped ease the painful lump in his throat.  
  
"Hey, Heero," Duo stopped moving and wrapped his arms around his cousin for a quick hug. "It's okay to cry. Really. I'm not gonna make fun of you for it. God knows you've let me punch pillows enough times."  
  
The Japanese boy sniffed and chuckled wetly. "I know," he rubbed his nose, "but I think I'd rather not, just now."  
  
"Okay. Hungry yet? No, don't just shrug at me. Yes or no?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Good. Pizza dead ahead." Duo flashed Heero a grin. "And two gorgeous waiters anxious to get to know us."  
  
Heero rolled his eyes. "I'll just bet. Guarantee you only girls work tonight."  
  
As it turned out, there was only one waitress on duty at ten at night. A very energetic, if rather short, young woman who was delighted to have two beautiful young men to serve. She smiled brightly as she took their orders, one hand absently playing with her hair. She whisked away their menus and bustled off with all the graceful exuberance only the insane or the manic can manage. Duo grinned, recognizing a kindred spirit.  
  
"She's certainly a bundle of joy, isn't she?" Heero watched the girl's retreating form.  
  
Duo laughed. "Don't go and fall in love, Yuy. Female. Off limits." He received a glare and laughed harder.  
  
One of the male servers chose that moment to stalk by, anger smoldering in his eyes. "Meg! Out here, now!"  
  
The waitress popped out of the kitchen, inquiry mingled with distaste on her face. "Yes, your highness?"  
  
He glowered. "You know what."  
  
Meg raised an eyebrow. "I haven't touched it. Swear. I have work to do, even if you just got out. Take your prize and run, your mightiness." Her voice was cold enough to freeze lava.  
  
The man grabbed her arm and slammed her into the wall, face twisted. "Meg, I will break every last-"  
  
"Touch her and you die, Mellendevitch." A golden hand settled on Meg's attacker, positioned just right to pop the man's shoulder out of joint. "You heard her. She didn't touch it. Now get out."  
  
Meg gasped for air as the man was propelled toward the door. "Bastard," she muttered, glaring at Mellendevitch. She pushed herself away from the wall and returned to the kitchen, rubbing her arm. Her helper escorted said man through the door, leaving Duo and Heero alone in the room.  
  
"Well," Duo said after a while. "That's not something you see everyday."  
  
Heero's eyes narrowed as the man who had aided Meg returned. Why did he look so familiar? He stuck his head into the kitchen and said something which brought her out at a run.  
  
"I am [i]so[/i] sorry about that," she called to the cousins, rushing to their table. "He's had a bad day. Please excuse the episode. Your dinners are on the house." Her friend snorted but offered no other comment and strode up to the table.  
  
"Not a problem," Duo told her, ogling the waiter. "It's already forgotten."  
  
Heero snapped his fingers. "Tokyo. Two years ago. I [i]knew[/i] you looked familiar."  
  
The waiter blinked. "...Heero Yuy?"  
  
Duo and Meg stared as the two boys hugged. "Chang Wufei, it is a pleasure to see you again," Heero grinned. "What are you doing in America? Last I knew, you were headed back to China."  
  
"I might ask you the same question. I'm attending school, of course. And you? Dating this one?" Wufei jerked his chin toward Duo, who choked.  
  
"No, no. We're cousins."  
  
"Really! Fascinating," Wufei studied Duo. "You really look nothing alike."  
  
Heero chuckled. "We'd noticed."  
  
"This is lovely as sunflowers. Care to tell me how you two know each other?" Meg planted her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side.  
  
Wufei smiled at her. "I was studying abroad. My clan decided to sponsor me in Japan that year. Heero and I met during a martial arts seminar. We spent a lovely week attempting to dismember each other, then went our separate ways."  
  
"Not completely separate," Heero interjected. "We kept in touch for a year or so. Then he vanished somewhere for school and I came here."  
  
Meg opened her mouth, but Wufei caught it. "No. Don't even think about it, Meg. You know I'm taken."  
  
"Do I ever," the girl grinned, eyes bright. "Hm. Wonder who that could be."  
  
Duo considered them. "Cute," he offered. "Can't wait to see the children."  
  
Heero rolled his eyes as Meg and Wufei blushed. A soft "ding" came from the kitchen, and Meg scurried off to collect their order. Wufei plunked himself down beside Heero. "So how's your love life, Heero?"  
  
The Japanese boy looked down at the table. "I was dating...he...well. He had to 'take a vacation.' Called tonight from the middle of nowhere and said 'it's been real.' "  
  
"That's cruel." Wufei whistled. "So this is feel better junk food night?"  
  
"No," Duo said mournfully. "He refuses to let so much as a drop of grease into his body. This is feel better portabella salad night for him and pig out on Heero's share of the greasy pizza night for me."  
  
"Speaking of such," Meg had returned, and presented the boys with their food. "Sally says she'll throw in free desserts. Order anything you want. You're our last and only customers tonight, so take all the time you want and be as noisy as you desire."  
  
Wufei stood. "Well, Sally probably wants me back there now, so..."  
  
"Nonsense, Wufei. Stay there and chat. I know how much you love small talk." A light haired woman emerged from the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel. Meg grinned at her as Wufei pouted. "The dishes have been washed and I cleaned up the mess you made of the stove earlier."  
  
"Thanks, Sal." Wufei grinned. "It was an experiment. I didn't know it would explode like that."  
  
Duo stared at him, eyes wide. "Explode?"  
  
A chuckle came from Meg. "Yes indeed. Ka-boom! Pastry and pizza sauce all over the room. That's what you get when you add ma...um...." Worried looks from Wufei and Sally silenced her. "Thirsty?"  
  
She ran off to get drinks while Sally introduced herself. "Sally Po. I married Wu's second cousin. So when the clan decided to ship him off to America, we got landed with him. Chamroeun is in the navy, so he's not currently around. Boy, will he ever get a shock when he comes back."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The evening passed, and it was near midnight when the cousins finally left the restaurant. Upon reaching their apartment, Duo threw himself on the floor in front of the television in preparation for a Scream marathon. Heero sighed and took himself into the bathroom for a long, hot shower.  
  
As steam surrounded him, the Japanese boy leaned against the wall. Salty water reached his lips, water not from the shower head. Suddenly, the mild smoldering disappointment of this last break up erupted into a volcano of agony. The boy slid down the tiled wall slowly, holding his head in his hands. Tears coursed down his cheeks as he sobbed silently, shoulders quivering.  
  
Heero cried out as much of his pain as possible before simply sitting and letting the warm liquid run over his body. Emotionally and mentally drained, he stumbled out of the bathroom much longer than he had originally intended. Blinking, he realized Duo had passed out in front of the television and glanced at the clock. Three in the morning.  
  
Amazed at his own sudden rush of exhaustion, Heero threw himself on his bed and buried his head under his pillow, fully expecting to lie there conscious all night, never mind his energy-less state.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The soft, sweet notes of a mandolin floated through the chill air, adding a tangible metallic flavor to the wind. A small figure sat hunched on a rooftop, slowly picking a haunting melody from the strings. A quiet voice joined the instrument a moment later, adding a strong yet gentle wordless aria to the underlying music. The voice and the mandolin interwove their tunes, each carrying a definite melody while subtly harmonizing with the other.  
  
The song spiraled up to a sweet, somehow aching finish, echoing among the buildings. The figure raised its head and turned wide, dark eyes on the moon before flickering once...twice...and disappearing.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was the obnoxiously bright sunlight pouring across his eyes that woke Heero. The boy groaned and pulled his pillow over his eyes yet again, eliciting a chuckle from Duo. "Up! Out of bed, sleepy head!" The American ordered, pouncing on his hapless cousin.   
  
Heero yelped and threw himself from the bed, landing on the floor with a resounding thud. Duo laughed at the other boy's look of shock. "Bet the people downstairs didn't appreciate that," he said.  
  
The now bruised Heero levered himself into a standing position. "Nngggh. What time is it?"  
  
"Nearly noon. You really can sleep, cantcha?" Duo handed his cousin a bagel and a mug of tea. "I've been trying to get you up for the last half hour. Your skull must be thicker than advertised." This comment earned him a glare and a snort. "Hurry and get dressed, island boy. We promised we'd meet Meg and Wufei at noon."  
  
"We did?" Startled, Heero sipped his tea. "When?"  
  
Duo rolled his eyes. "Last night. After dinner. Right before we left."  
  
Heero blinked. "Huh. That's funny. I don't remember it at all. Then again," he shrugged philosophically, "I wasn't exactly all there last night."  
  
The American's face fell for a moment. "How are you, speaking of that?"  
  
Heero stopped for a moment to take stock. "Surprisingly...well," he murmured wonderingly. "I...I think I'll be okay. Eventually. I'm not perfect, not yet, but...it's not as bad as I thought it would be."  
  
Duo considered this, head cocked to one side. Finally, he shrugged. "Well, that's good. I think you'll survive. Now c'mon!! Let's hit the road, Jack. We've got a cute little Chinese guy to see, and his girlfriend to contend with."  
  
To the surprise of both, Heero actually snickered. "I'm glad I know you well enough to know you don't mean that. Wufei'd probably deck you for even thinking it."  
  
"And I wouldn't I love that experience," Duo muttered wryly, shaking his head. "Lovely. Can't think of anything I'd rather do than be beaten up by an irate martial artist."  
  
"Did you smoke something?" Heero wanted to know, astounded at the abundant cheerfulness in the American. "Either your mental state deteriorated severely overnight or you're using some seriously bad drugs."  
  
Duo laughed and tossed him a shirt. "Nah. Must be the brain. I'll never take drugs. I'd miss too much fun stuff."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A loud crash greeted the cousins at the restaurant, followed by a stream of angry words in a foreign tongue. Wufei stalked out of the building with his fists at his sides, face tinted a sullen pink. Meg came running out after him, trying desperately to stop him. "Wufei! Please. Calm down! No harm's done, come on, Wu, think! Nothing has changed. I'm okay, you're okay, Sally's okay. It hasn't hurt a thing."  
  
"Not yet it hasn't!" The young man bellowed. "But what about later? What happens when that slimeball decides to do more than this? Hm? What'll you do then?"  
  
"The same thing I've always done," the girl retorted. "Beat him over the head repeatedly with a sledgehammer. Which I'm thinking about using right now. Wufei! Relax, for crying out loud! You know better than anyone else that I can take care of myself."  
  
The Chinese features twisted in frustration. "But not here! We've been over this, all of us. You can't do things like that here. It would cause more trouble than it would help."  
  
Meg tugged at a lock of hair, desperately searching for a counter. "But...Wu! I have you and Sally and the others, others who can teach me, so I'll be fine. I'm not used to this place yet, true, but I'm adapting!"  
  
He glared. "That has nothing to do with this discussion."  
  
"Discussion?" Meg's voice cracked. "By the moonlight! You call this a discussion?" She tugged her hair again, distraught. "This is an absolute battle! You are hopeless!"  
  
"Because I will not sit idly by and let him do things like that? How dare you!" Wufei's eyes narrowed. "I have a strong sense of self-preservation, thank you very much. And you do not! I don't know how you survived as long as you have. Things must be very different where you came from."  
  
The waitress massaged her wrist thoughtfully, suddenly quiet. "It is different," she said finally, softly. "Very different. But like I said, Wu, I can adjust."  
  
The haughty features fell. "Gods, Meg, I'm sorry. I...I just feel so protective of you. I know you can handle yourself, and I can go down under, but...it's the way I am." Wufei shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry."  
  
He received a sigh. "It's all right, but please don't go off on me like that again. Remember, I've been with Sally longer than you have, so I do know at least a little about how to get along here. Granted, you've been more places, but still. Will it satisfy you if I promise to come to you the second I get a bad feeling about this?"  
  
Wufei nodded but sighed. "I already have bad feelings. But I will wait for your acknowledgement." He bowed his head to the girl and headed back inside.  
  
Meg mumbled something under her breath and turned a bit to the side, watching a bird. She caught sight of Duo and Heero then, and jumped a tiny bit. "Oh," she blinked. "Ah...I didn't see you there. Hello," suddenly she smiled brightly, as if nothing had happened. "Come on in. We were just cleaning up."  
  
On a whim, Duo decided to play along. When the time came, she'd tell them what was up. "Cleaning up what?" He wondered, and raised an eyebrow at the disgusted look on her face.  
  
"Mellendevitch decided he didn't believe me. So he sent us a nice present in the mail," her smile turned icy. "Needless to say, Sally's pissed and he's out of a job, but no one was hurt and nothing important was broken. We're fine."  
  
The restaurant was indeed a mess. Furniture seemed to have been tossed randomly about the room, causing a few casualties among the table legs, a cracked window, and a good number of decimated dishes. Sally was kneeling in the middle of the destruction, wielding a dust pan and broom angrily. Wufei had busied himself righting the furniture, his face a study in neutrality.  
  
Duo whistled between his teeth and glanced around, shocked. "What the..."  
  
Sally looked up from her labors. "Oh, hello again. Sorry about this. One of my ex-employees decided to send us...something akin to a mail bomb." She scooped up another dustpan of debris and examined the contents. She laughed suddenly, digging out a bit of wood. "I believe this is...was...yours," she held the piece of wood out, which Wufei accepted with a sigh.  
  
"Blast it," the boy muttered. "Now I'll have to fix it again."  
  
Meg giggled, but her smile seemed a bit tired. "You do have trouble with that, don't you. It seems to be blown up every day."  
  
Wufei graced her with a grimace and returned his attention back to Sally. "Did you find the rest of it?"  
  
She rummaged about, examining everything. "No. Sorry. It's not in here." She dug a bit more, seemingly worried.  
  
Meg too had a worry line between her eyebrows. "'Fei, if you lose it..."  
  
A very rude word came from the Chinese boy and he dropped to his knees, searching the floor. "If I lose it, we're in big trouble."  
  
"You're telling me," the girl's voice was dry. "Sally, did you see it?"  
  
"No," Sally looked up from her now frantic search for...whatever. "Boys, see if you can find a few small pieces of wood with...little drawings on them. Fast."  
  
Wufei swore again. "How long do we have?"  
  
"Eight minutes to locate. Two days to repair," Meg's voice was strained, and she looked as if she didn't feel very well.  
  
Consternated looks were the only comments Duo and Heero made as Wufei swore a third time. Duo was the first to discover a sliver of wood near the door, followed by Sally picking up another. Meg found the fourth, and Duo and Heero reached a fifth and sixth at the same time. Wufei's eyes were wide as he studied the six bits of wood before him. Swiftly, he arranged them into a shape resembling a triangle. "It's not complete," he murmured, horrified. "There has to be at least one more piece."  
  
"What is this?" Heero wanted to know, gazing at the puzzle.  
  
"Long story," Sally told him, and swore herself as Meg uttered a small cry and crumpled to the floor.  
  
"Meg!" Wufei was at her side in an instant. "Meg, no! Stay here. Stay here. What is it?"  
  
The girl gasped for air. "Mellen..dev...he has it! Them. It was a summoning charm, he masked it. He...broke one piece...to make two, and...wow, that hurt." She winced and rubbed her side as she righted herself. "At least I know where they are. Or were five seconds ago." She leaned against Wufei, eyes closed.  
  
"Time out," Duo's purple eyes were wide. "Just hold on one pop rockin' minute. What just happened here?"  
  
Meg looked up, the proverbial "deer in headlights." She began to hum, but Wufei placed a finger on her lips, silencing her. "That would probably not be a good idea," he informed her. "I got to know Heero pretty well those years ago, and if he's turned out anything like I thought he would, it's likely he'll be able to help us. I don't know about pretty boy over there, but I'm willing to bet he has some skills worth the benefit of the doubt."  
  
In the sudden silence, the rustle of Sally's clothes was like a shout. "Let me see her," she ordered. Wufei looked as if he wanted to refuse, but surrendered his position at Sally's stern look. Sally placed a hand on Meg's head, frowning in concentration. "Quite a shock to your system, wasn't it, little princess?" She murmured, tracing a line down Meg's forehead. A faint trail of soft green slight followed the moving digit and was absorbed slowly into the girl's skin. Meg sighed once and slumped over, asleep.  
  
Heero looked Wufei in the eye. "What in Hell is going on?"  
  
Sally lifted the sleeping girl in her arms and raised a sardonic eyebrow at Wufei. "He's your friend, and you're the one who wanted their help. I'll go put her to bed. You get to do the explaining." 


End file.
